Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

We dusted off our electric ice cream maker last week to make some homemade ice cream to help celebrate my mom's birthday. This is a delicious, nutritious recipe from Nourishing Traditions, I just doubled the original recipe to make 2 quarts. And since it's so nutrient dense with lots of good fat, a little goes a long way!

Vanilla Ice Cream

Makes 2 quarts

6 egg yolks

1 c. real maple syrup (I used about 3/4 c. I always use less sugar in things and I don't miss it)

2 T. vanilla extract

2 T. arrowroot powder

6 c. heavy cream, preferably raw, not ultrapasteurized (I skimmed the cream off the top of the milk I get... thankfully I had JUST enough!)

Beat egg yolks and blend in remaining ingredients. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to instructions.

My notes:

With the leftover egg whites, you can make homemade macaroons. I use a recipe similar to this, except I don't toast my coconut flakes and I usually don't use that much sugar--well I usually use maple syrup. Or, I used them to make an apple pie with a merengue top. Since it didn't turn out great, I won't be including the recipe... especially since I just made it up as I went, and can't really remember how I made it, anyway!

Since this isn't cooked, it's important to use the highest quality ingredients possible. I buy my eggs locally from a farmer who lets his chickens roam free. The yolks are so nice and orange, so you know they're high in nutrients.

When I say "real maple syrup", please don't use Aunt Jemima's or some other syrup containing high fructose corn syrup or other fake foods. It's "real" when it comes right from the tree, so to speak. I know there's some processing involved, but it's not made of corn syrup with maple flavoring! We buy ours locally if we can.

Vanilla extract, preferably not imitation please! And you can even make your own! Read about it here. That's what we do, and it works great!

Arrowroot powder can be found at your local food coop. Possibly at a grocery store, although not sure. It is a natural thickener, and works like cornstarch.

A word on cream--not everyone has the luxury of raw milk and cream. So if you need to buy cream from the store, please don't buy ultrapasteurized. They've completely killed anything that could possibly be beneficial. All the enzymes are destroyed. According to Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, "the test for successful pasteurization is absence of enzymes. These enzymes help the body assimilate all bodybuilding factors, including calcium. That is why those who drink pasteurized milk may suffer from osteoporosis." There's a lot more I could say on this, but I encourage you to do some research about this and see for yourself how beneficial raw milk and cream is!